Dow stock hit 52-week high on Wednesday

Published 1:30 pm, Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Dow Chemical Co. has positioned itself to capture growth as signs of an economic recovery take hold, Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris said Wednesday.

The company is seeing consumers return to some markets, Liveris said in a conference call with industry analysts after Dow reported earnings of $466 million, or 41 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2010.

The earnings news pushed Dow’s stock price to a new 52-week high, climbing $1.76 to finish Wednesday at $31.83.

Dow’s current portfolio of products will benefit from an economic recovery while also adding innovative new products from the company’s growing research and development efforts, Liveris said. This year Dow expects to invest $1.6 billion in research and development.

“We currently have more than 500 projects in our innovation playbook, and these are strategically aligned with our four megatrends,” Liveris said, referring to Dow’s commitment to focus on energy, consumerism, transportation and infrastructure, and health and nutrition.

The program is most robust in Dow’s Performance segments, Liveris said.

“We have no shortage of new projects at the early stage of our pipeline, but equally exciting is how many are at an advanced stage and near commercialization,” he said. “We have a very rigorous process to ensure our programs deliver commercial success.”

He cited examples such as Dow’s next-generation STYROFOAM Brand Insulation, a new display materials manufacturing facility that opened last year in Korea to meet growing needs in the electronics field and new technology in the polyurethanes business to improve productivity for customers.

“Our commercial activities have been re-energized, not just in Advanced Materials, but across the entire enterprise,” Liveris said. “And this mindset is proliferating through every part of our company, enabling us to grow faster and more profitably.”

Jerome Peribere, president and CEO of Dow Advanced Materials, said the division serves a broad and diverse range of high-growth markets, including electronics, coatings, water and building and construction.

“Last year our division had sales in excess of $9 billion, representing about 20 percent of Dow’s sales,” he said.

More details about the future of Dow Advanced Materials will be presented at an investor event in Philadelphia May 18.

Liveris reiterated that Dow is in no rush to replace the K-Dow Petrochemicals joint venture deal that its Kuwaiti partner dropped out of in December 2008. The deal would have placed many of Dow’s basic chemicals operations into a joint venture.

Liveris said timing on any potential deal will be based on getting the maximum value out of it. He said Dow is not counting on a deal this year in its financial planning.